Gotta love the nonsense T-shirts.
Once I saw a T-shirt on a girl that said "I spread legs wide" so feeling some solidarity with this girl I had some T-shirts made that said 変態外人, now guess who got all the looks?

I don't speak Japanese, but I can't help noticing that the last character is suggestive.

Actually, this cuts both ways - it is much easier for me to share a book with my sister in another state through Amazon than it ever would be with paper. And if your family is on your account, it is even better. Particularly if you are one of those families who bought 4 hardcover Harry Potters (mom, dad, two kids) when they new one was released.

(...) started yelling at her to get up from the ground, calling her all kinds of names (my vocabulary expanded considerably that day) and then he started kicking her . Now there was a shocker. Getting some laughs, great. Having people kicked at because of those laughs, not a pleasant experience.I asked my boyfriend, and he said that he tried to tell me.

That reading was (for me) a cultural shock as maxed out as possible. What mostly goes beyond my comprehension is, that your boyfriend wasn't as it seems (since you haven't hinted nothing in this direction) neither surprised or disgusted, nor willing to go between. As if kicking somebody who's lying on the ground (and if that isn't enough - a woman!) were a proper justifiable reaction of the other guy.
All this + the fact that the opinion about Japanese in general is that they are cultivated and honorable.
Being honest - my first tought reading that was "I want a barf bag."

The Japanese tend to avoid confrontation at any cost, and the kicking guy wasn't putting any power into the kicks. Yet, the embarrassment he felt over his laughing girlfriend was indeed a cultural shock. The traditional Japanese divorce letter is called mikudarihan it means three and a half line. A letter to the bride's father informing him that his daughter is returned, no explanation required. Hence, males have a certain proprietorship over females, for some that thinking lingers on.

If I were to live here for the next 100 years, I'd still be an outsider... I've lived here for 25 years, been married to a Japanese woman for 18 years, spend plenty of time with all the in-laws, party with Japanese friends, etc., etc., etc. I feel completely welcomed, totally like 'family,' but I'll always be an outsider...

That reading was (for me) a cultural shock as maxed out as possible. ...

Is this really a matter of other cultures? I don't wanna defend these two Japanese men, but before judging about them too harshly: would you really walk proudly through your hometown with your girlfriend or wife next by your side and she's wearing a t-shirt saying:

Is this really a matter of other cultures? I don't wanna defend these two Japanese men, but before judging about them too harshly: would you really walk proudly through your hometown with your girlfriend or wife next by your side and she's wearing a t-shirt saying:

Billi, unless I'm mistaken, the one who was doing all the laughing was a woman, not a man...

Yes, I know, but the strong reactions came from men and I wanted to raise a little bit of understanding for them.
And I can ask my question to you too: would you find it a terrible funny idea if your wife wears such a t-shirt when walking with you through the town, be it in Japan or in the US?

(I'm not talking about all the silly t-shirts we had when we were giggling 16. I thought this was about grown-ups here.)

Yes, I know, but the strong reactions came from men and I wanted to raise a little bit of understanding for them.
And I can ask my question to you too: would you find it a terrible funny idea if your wife wears such a t-shirt when walking with you through the town, be it in Japan or in the US?

(I'm not talking about all the silly t-shirts we had when we were giggling 16. I thought this was about grown-ups here.)

In many ways we don't become grown-ups until we are in our 30's or 40's. When I was 21, I probably would have bought it for her. Now at at few weeks shy of 66, no, I wouldn't. But at 66 I wouldn't think to enlist in the Military during a time of war as I did when I was 20, thinking I could make a difference... We live...we learn... hopefully we grow.